Trump wins Idaho for third time. Here’s how much his support grew across the state
Former President Donald Trump claimed Idaho’s four Electoral College votes Tuesday night, with The Associated Press calling the race in the Republican’s favor at 9 p.m. — just as polls closed in the Panhandle.
Unofficial results posted Wednesday showed Trump with 66.9% of the vote and Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris with 30.4%. Trump received 605,040 votes to Harris’ 274,821.
The results showed Trump with more support than ever in Idaho.
Trump got 59% of the overall vote in 2016, and support grew to 63% in 2020. He appears to have made a gain of four percentage points for the second straight election.
The vast majority of Idaho’s 44 counties showed increases for Trump over 2020 numbers. Harris carried just two counties: Blaine, the home of Ketchum and Sun Valley; and Teton, on the west side of Wyoming’s Teton Range.
In Ada County, Trump earned more than half of the vote for the first time, 53.8%, though Harris carried Boise.
Support for Trump grows, but momentum slows
Trump continued to gain ground in Idaho in Tuesday’s election, earning 80% or more of the vote in just under half of counties. That’s a major shift from his initial 2016 run, when the highest level of support he saw in any county was 78%.
Since 2016, Trump has gained percentage points in almost every county. In Madison County, home to Rexburg, he has seen a 23 percentage point increase over the last two elections.
Ada County is among the areas where Trump has gained the least ground in the past eight years, increasing his share of the vote six percentage points. On average, he has gained about eight percentage points in Idaho counties.
The Republican lost ground in Blaine County by one percentage point in 2020, but grew his lead in all other counties. This year, he saw minute downturns in support in a few conservative rural counties. Trump’s share of the vote slipped by one percentage point in Clark, Custer and Oneida counties and by two percentage points in Caribou County.
How did Trump fare in first election vs. reelection bid?
Trump won Idaho handily in 2016 and again in 2020, and he saw strong growth in support in the Gem State between his first term and bid for reelection.
In particular, Trump picked up significant support in Southeast Idaho. Many counties in that area, where large percentages of the population are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, saw strong support for third-party candidate and LDS church member Evan McMullin in 2016. In McMullin’s absence in 2020, voters opted for Trump.
Trump lost ground in just one Idaho county between 2016 and 2020: Blaine. The wealthy south-central Idaho county was one of two areas (along with Latah County) where Democrat Hillary Clinton took the bulk of the vote in 2016. Trump lost one percentage point there in 2020, earning just 30% of the vote.
Though Trump gained percentage points in all other Idaho counties between the two elections, the shift away from third-party candidates in 2020 handed Democrats a win in a third county. President Joe Biden earned the majority of votes in Blaine, Latah and Teton counties.
This story was originally published November 5, 2024 at 9:19 PM.
